


And Just What It Was Worth

by isawrightless



Series: Heaven Tonight [9]
Category: Batman (Comics), DCU - Comicverse, Red Robin (Comics), Robin (Comics)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-17
Updated: 2012-07-17
Packaged: 2017-11-10 04:31:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/462222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isawrightless/pseuds/isawrightless
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The bastard is enjoying this, Jason thinks, and then he realizes that he’s enjoying this as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And Just What It Was Worth

The sound of his laughter sends a chill through Tim’s spine. Something goes off in his brain, and he’s not quite sure if it’s sadness or regret, but he holds Sarah closer to his chest, and shuts his eyes. He can’t handle looking at the old couch anymore, the wallpaper peeling off the wall; he can’t handle looking at this dump also known as the living room. And it’s not about having nice, expensive things. It’s about having a place that feels like home, that isn’t used as some kind of battle arena. Because Tim doesn’t need to be a hero to smell the blood, the sweat. Death. And it hurts to picture the nights he came back, wounded, alone, dying all over again.

He’s here because he lied. As much as he tries to convince himself that it’s not that bad, it all comes down to the fact that he lied to Kon.

Is he doing something wrong here?

He takes a deep breath, the scent of Sarah’s shampoo going straight to his brain, and he looks at her; her face is the only visible part of her body, and not even entirely thanks to the hood on her jacket. A hood with cat ears sewed on it (Selina bought it as soon as she found out about Sarah). It’s way too cold for her to be out unprotected. The good thing is that she loves dressing up. Tim sighs. He hears the scrapping of boots against the concrete floor.

“You gonna stand there all night or what? Promise you I’ve got no guns.”

Tim turns around to find Jason a few steps away from him. He’s holding his hands up as if the gesture is enough to make Tim believe him. No helmet covering his face, Tim notices a scar decorating the bridge of his nose. It’s still pink, fresh, and Tim is suddenly aware that he can’t remember the last time he gained a new scar himself.

Jason drops his hands, tilts his head. “Little one’s got some nice ears.”

Tim smiles at that, kissing the top of Sarah’s head. She giggles.

“How old is she?” Jason asks.

“Four months and a half.” Tim responds, taking Sarah’s hand away from her mouth. She apparently thinks it’s the nicest thing she can eat.

Jason’s lips curve into a smile as he looks down. “I’m actually surprised you’re here. Didn’t think you’d show up.”

“I’m surprised, too.”

“Say I believe you…what made you change your mind?”

Tim does his best to avoid Jason’s eyes, but he can feel them on him, and he doesn’t know if it’s hate or something else. Maybe being here really is a mistake. “You’re her uncle,” he says after a moment.

“I’d have to be a brother for that, wouldn’t I?”

Tim shakes his head. They’ve faced each other multiple times, two out of those were almost fatal. But life happens. Life happens, and time doesn’t heal anything, the scars itch, but everything goes on, and Jason can’t seem to accept. Accept that he’s still part of the family, that redemption comes like this, slowly, and Tim understands.

“Can we please not do this?” Tim asks, voice low, tired, staring right into Jason’s eyes.

They stay like this for a while. Sarah steals their attention when she starts playing with Tim’s shirt, twisting the fabric with her hands and giggling. Jason moves closer, and Tim has to suppress the urge to take a step back. This is really the first time he meets Jason without getting punched in the face.

“Sarah.” Jason says, amused. “Who named her?”

“Conner.” Tim answers.

Laughing a little, the former Robin says, “so she’s a Wayne and a Kent.”

“And a Drake.”

“Tough girl.”

Tim nods, feeling a sudden rush of pride running through his veins. “You wanna hold her?”

“Think that’s a good idea?” Jason raises an eyebrow. “You probably came up with ten easy ways to kill me if something happens to the little one while she’s with me.”

“Twenty, actually.” Tim admits, smiling as Jason snorts. “But I don’t think you’d let something happen to her.”

“Alright,” Jason says, a little shocked with the lack of hesitation in his voice.

Tim adjusts Sarah’s clothes, tells her that uncle Jason is going to hold her now, and Jason bites the inside of his cheek because, holy crap, he’s not gentle, he’s not the nice guy here, what the fuck is Tim doing, why the hell did he even agree to visit, and more importantly, what was Jason thinking when he contacted him in the first place. Babies are small, and Jason’s hands are not like Tim’s, no, his hands are stained with blood, they always will be, and Sarah is this tiny thing that giggles, she’s bubbly and chubby, and when she’s finally in his arms, he lets himself just be.

She stares at him with big blue eyes, he stares right back. This might be the only time he gets to hold her, and she’s his niece, how funny is that.

Jason starts to walk, Tim’s worried eyes behind him, and he sits on the couch, crosses his legs and lets Sarah rest on his lap. She’s still tyring to figure out who this man is, and Jason’s trying…He doesn’t know what he’s trying to do, but he holds her firmer so she won’t drop out of his grasp, and Tim sits next to them, watching without saying anything. The bastard is enjoying this, Jason thinks, and then he realizes that he’s enjoying this as well.

Sarah decides to touch him, tugging at the leather jacket before touching his face with her tiny hands. She finds his hair, and oh, Jason finds out the hard way that hair is her idea of playground, she pulls with all her strength, and Jason winces. That’s when she laughs, it’s contagious, and Jason tries to make her stop, but she pulls again and laughs again and the pain is worth it if he can see her being happy like this.

Tim is laughing, too. “She likes you.”

“What a nice way of showing—ow,” Jason winces again, looks at her. She won’t let go of his hair, and her free hand is grabbing on his jacket. “And you laugh. You’re a little sadist, aren’t you?” and she laughs really loud this time, her cheeks a bit red, and she looks at Tim as if asking for approval before pulling on Jason’s hair again.

“Ow! Ow!” Jason chuckles. “I like you, too, kid.”


End file.
